*~~*Love and Revenge*~~*

*~Chapter Eight-The Pyramids of Egypt~*

Written by: Chibi-Hotaru& Neptune*Babe

AN: As you can see, this chapter was written by me and my friend Chibi-Hotaru. I want to thank her, if she's reading this, for helping me write this. And for putting up with my impatience. If anyone knows me, patience is NOT one of my best qualities ~_~. So, I hope everyone likes this chapter!

Disclaimer- I don't own Gundam Wing

Alyssa and Wufei were flying to the very edge of the Western Desert to park their jet, but they were actually heading for the Pyramids of Giza. They didn't know which pyramid held the information, but they would find out.

"Man, look at the view. It's just.......sand..." Alyssa said, staring into the emptiness of the desert while she flew jet 8075

"That's why it's called a desert, onna." Wufei muttered in an annoyed tone. He folded his arms and continued to stare straight ahead. Alyssa didn't bother to argue and just rolled her eyes.

"Onto more important things. Our location is approximately ten miles from where we are now." Alyssa said, as the jet slowly landed on the sand. In the far distance, the towns of Shabramant, Abu el Numrus, and even Cairo across the Nile River could be seen (Nile have none of that!..ok ok I know bad joke sorry had to put it in). She pointed this out to Wufei on the traking device. There were three tiny dots arranged in a triangle on the upper left corner of the traking device.

"Well, then, why didn't you say so? We could have flown the rest of the way!" He semi-yelled, throwing up his hands.

"If we did that, they'd obviously spot us for sure, you baka!" Alyssa yelled back, getting annoyed.

"Oh." Wufei said, quietly, admitting defeat. Alyssa sighed exasperately and got out of the jet. They got the rest of their equipment and set out into the quiet desert. Knowing how people in the Middle East dressed, she brought a large shawl that she could wrap around her body, and a long scarf to wrap around her head. These items had been sent to her from her grandmother(on her mother's side) who lived in Cairo while she lived in a foster home. Alyssa wondered if she still lived there and wanted to see her Nana so badly. She was the only family member that Alyssa knew of who was still alive, and maybe if she saw her, she could answer some questions Alyssa was dying to know about her family.

'I don't know if I'm going to make it through to the nearest town (Shabramant). I'm not used to this hot weather. Well, in this case, extremely hot weather. I can't believe Lady Une sent me to Egypt and Krissy to Alaska! She knows what part of the country we're from! Argh. But, I don't want Wufei to think I'm weak. I have to press on......wait, why would I care what he thinks? Blast him!' Alyssa thought, determined to make the destination.

*~~1 Hour and 1 Mile Later~~*

Alyssa was starting to feel weary and her legs started to shake. She looked like she was going to drop any second, but tried not to show it. She started to see mirages of her Nana, but always managed to snap herself out of it before she got in too deep. Wufei, on the other hand, looked semi-tired, but was handling the situation much better than Alyssa was. She fell behind in the walking, leaving Wufei in the lead. He turned his head to check on how she was holding up.

'Alyssa looks really bad,' he thought, 'I have to admit this is tough, but I want to show her I'm just as strong as she is.' He looked ahead at the city wavering in the heat of the sun. 'Shabramant is just a little more than a mile. I hope she can hold on just a bit more.'
Gusts of sand would blow occasionaly and the only thing you could hear was the piercing sound of the silent, small winds. Alyssa's eyes would close again and again and she felt herself slipping out of consiousness.

"Just a little more, Alyssa. You can do it," she told herself, "Just a little......" Alyssa suddenly dropped to her knees. She reached out into the air, hoping Wufei would be there to catch her, and tried to say something. Nothing came out, and she fainted, face down in the sand. Wufei heard a small thump and turned around. He saw Alyssa and rushed over to her; he took off her backpack and pulled her up so that she was sitting in his lap. For some reason this felt familiar to him. Alyssa opened her eyes for a second.

"Wufei.....It's....too hot." Alyssa managed to say before closing her eyes and going unconsious again.

"Alyssa..." he suddenly knew what this reminded him of.

"Meiran...." he whispered, "she died.....in my arms." He lowered his head, "I won't let this happen again. As a promise to my dear Meiran I will do everything in my power to protect Alyssa." He put on Alyssa's backpack and picked her up, holding her in his arms.

'Alyssa,' he thought, 'I'm sorry I was so mean. But, when you argue with me....I just feel like I have to fight back. You're so much like Meiran.' A small smile spread across his face, 'Just rest and everything will be fine.' (AN: Woah!! Wufei said that! He actually said sorry?! I think the heat is getting to him, too! *runs to go get a fan*). A little further along, and almost to the city's edge, Wufei got out a water jug from his bag and poured a little into Alyssa's mouth. She was still unconscious, but now was starting to cool down.

*~~20 Minutes Later~~*
Alyssa could hear the sounds of cars, bicycles, and people talking as if they were making deals in a market place. She slowly opened her eyes and found Wufei holding her. She made a small noise and he looked down at her. A look of relief swept across his face. They were hiding behind a wall which was the border between the Western Desert and Shabramant.

"Wufei.....thank you...for staying with me." Alyssa said as he slowly put her down and she regained her balance. Wufei turned his head away so as not to show Alyssa that he was blushing a little (AN: Hehe). Alyssa didn't pay attention to this, but felt like blushing herself.

"We should get going and find a place to stay since we won't make it to the base until tomorrow." Wufei said, regaining his exposure. Alyssa nodded and Wufei handed her her backpack. Alyssa pulled out the shawl and scarf, which she now remembered was called a burka, and put it on. She handed an extra scarf to Wufei. He looked at it, confused.

"Well, put it on." she said.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Wrap it around your head, silly." Wufei's eyes widened.

"You mean like a cinnamon roll on my head? No way onna!" 'Injustice!' he thought.

"You have to, Wufei. And, no it's not a cinnamon roll, it's called a turbin," Alyssa said folding her arms, "You get to wear that which is nothing compared to this burka, now put it on."
'Technically, he doesn't have to put it on, but I want to see what a goof he'll look like. Hehehe, I'm so evil.' Alyssa thought and Wufei sighed.

*~~10 Minutes Later~~*
Alyssa and Wufei were walking through the market place of Shambrant to look for a tent and some food that didn't look well.....rotten. As Alyssa was looking at different carts full of supplies, people kept staring at Wufei. His face was flushed with embarrassment and sweatdrops were coming down his head.

'I wish they would stop staring at me!' Wufei thought. Alyssa acted like she wasn't paying attention to what other people were doing, but every now and then she would look back at Wufei, with the turbin on his head and a funny expression on his face, and snicker.

*~~30 Minutes Later~~*
They were nearing the end of their shopping and Wufei was getting more and more embarrassed by the minute. He looked like his head was going to turn into a tomoato.

"I can't take much more of this." he murmured to Alyssa, "Just give me some of the stuff and I'll meet you at the border." Alyssa was going to say no, but she gave in.

"Alright." she said, handing him the tent, some blankets, and a crate of food. He turned around and walked as fast as he could out of the market, people still pointing and laughing at him.

"Poor Wufei." Alyssa thought, then laughed. She had just picked up some fresh fish from the Nile, when she turned around and saw.......her.

"Oh my...." she gasped, nearly collapsing. She put a hand on one knee to keep her balance. An elderly lady was standing across from her, with warm, grey eyes and a soft presence about her. She was talking to another lady, who's back was facing Alyssa.

"Nana..." she whispered, tears starting to well up. As the elderly lady began to exit the cart she was visiting, her burka caught on a nail and it ripped, exposing her legs.

"NO!" Alyssa croaked. She knew the penalty for a woman showing any part of her body except her hands, feet, and face. The elderly lady tried to free herself with the help of the other lady, but men already starting throwing sticks and rocks at her. (AN: I wrote this waaaaayyy before Sept. 11 so please don't get upset ~_~)

"Nana! Nana!" Alyssa yelled running forward, but she was caught by two soldiers blocking her with their guns. Four more guards came and took the elderly lady and the other lady away. She wanted to knock the guards out, but the situation could be deadly. She dropped to her knees as the guards walked away.

"Oh....Nana..." Alyssa said, with the bags of food in her lap. A small tear rolled down her cheek as she looked to the sky.

*~~Next Day~~*
After the incident, Alyssa had mixed feelings of sadness (that her Nana was arrested), anger (that her Nana never made an effort to find her only granddaughter), and joy (that she had finally found her). But, even though she wanted to run back and free her Nana and the other lady, she pushed it back in her mind as best she could and decided to finish her mission first, and then see what she could do for her Nana. Very early in the morning, Alyssa and Wufei packed up their things and high-jacked a jeep out of Shambramant to go to the Pyramids of Gîza. Their journey wasn't very long, only a couple of miles.

"We're very close to the base." Alyssa said. Wufei looked ahead.

"All I see is three pyramids." Wufei said as Alyssa sweatdropped.

"Wufe-ei....think!" Alyssa yelled, "Pyramids equals base. Those are the Pyramids of Gîza, comprende?!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh." 'Man, I think I've been hanging around Duo too much.' Wufei thought. It was still dark out, with the stars still shining and the moon was casting a shadow on the Pyramids and the Sphinx ahead. Alyssa and Wufei got out of the jeep with their things.

"We need to find a way to get in," Wufei said, as Alyssa tore herself away from the mesmerizing sight.

"Hold on, I'll bring up a map of the base." Alyssa said, sitting in the sand and getting out her lab-top. A red laser scanned across the pyramids and the Sphinx then disappeared. In seconds, a map of the base appeared on her monitor. Wufei stood, hovering over her.

"Ok, I've got it. The main control room is underneath the Cheops Pyramid which is the biggest one. The other two, Chephren and Mycerinus are just storage places and meeting rooms. Under the Sphinx is where weapons, cars, and jets are kept. Let's park near the Sphinx; in case someone sees the jeep, hopefully they'll just think that someone has left it there." Alyssa explained.

"So, how are we going to get in?" Wufei asked.

"There are many underground pathways and the outside, as you can see, doesn't have any guards because they didn't want to look suspicious." Alyssa said, "Hmm....." she searched for an entrance. "It seems that there's only one entrance in Chephren. There's a small block underneath the sand with the picture of the god,Thoth [the moon]. The only way to open it is when the moon is shining on it, you press the Sacred Eye which is inbetween Thoth and the other god, Maat. I love this kind of stuff! It's so interesting!" Alyssa said, smiling (Neptune: Ya, me too hehe ^_^). Wufei just looked at her for a minute before turning back to the computer screen.

"Anyway, we could take tunnel C after we're inside and there is a secret corridor on one side of the tunnel. The corridor leads into a spirit room where there is a chest." he explained, pointing to the screen. Alyssa followed, letting Wufei continue, "The chest opens up to a ladder below which leads down into the information building."

"That's the first intellegent thing you've said this whole trip!" Alyssa said, smiling then let out a little laugh.

"Ha-ha-ha." Wufei laughed sarcastically, putting his hands on his hips.

"Okay, hehe, we'll have to be on the look out for the switch or whatever in order to get to the secret corridor." Alyssa managed to get out between giggles.

"Okay, let's go then. And stop laughing at me!"

"Ok, ok." Alyssa said, still smiling. When they walked up to the pyramids, they saw two people who looked like tourists standing next to Chephren. They hid in the shadows so that they wouldn't see them even though the "tourists" had their backs facing them.

"What? I thought tourists weren't allowed here at this time?" Alyssa said. Wufie looked at them and saw guns in their back pockets.

"Well, tourists don't usually wear rifles with their outfits." Wufei pointed out.

"Oh, I see. Let's knock'em out." Alyssa said, as Wufei cracked his knuckles. Alyssa and Wufei got out their semi-automatics and crept up behind the suspicious men and knocked them out with the butts of their guns. They neared the spot where the moon shone on the ground and uncovered the sand. Alyssa pressed the eye and a door where it looked like just some bricks, slid up.

"How original." Wufei said, sarcastically. They stepped in cautiously as the door closed and jerked their bodies with their rifles ready, searching for any movement. It was dark, so it took their eyes a few minutes to adjust to it. The only light in the room was a torch that was hanging in the hall to their left. They paused there for a couple of seconds before running into the hall. Alyssa grabbed the torch while Wufei guarded her with his gun ready to shoot. As they walked through the tunnels, many heiroglyphics could be seen and pictures of every day life of a king and queen were displayed. A chill ran up Alyssa's spine as she felt a presence around her.

"Alyssa....." a distant voice said. Alyssa turned spun around, in shock.

"What?" Wufei asked.

"Did you hear that?" Alyssa asked.

"No. I think you're flipping out. Just find the corridor, ok?"

"Fine." Alyssa said stomping away from him. Suddenly, Wufei could feel a warm presence around him, too, but it felt familiar.

"Wufei....." the soft voice whispered.

"Stop, Alyssa." Alyssa paused and turned around. The torch lit up the spot where they stood and cast a shadow on their faces.

"I heard someone say my name."

"What? I did, too."

"But, it sounded familiar."

"Really?" Alyssa stepped back and put her foot on a pebble. She slipped and Wufei caught her hand. They stared for a moment at each other.

'This feels right, but I feel......I feel like I'm cheating on Meiran. I'm so confused.' Wufei thought and let go of Alyssa's hand. She fell on the ground.

"Ow." She said, then let out a groan, while rubbing the arm she fell on. Wufei turned to the wall, cold and motionless.

"This is the corridor." he finally said, and pressed a switch which he found above the door. Alyssa was more surprised than anything else that he just let her drop like that because he had been so kind to her when she fainted back in the desert. He walked in and she got up and followed.

"So, this is the spirit room." Alyssa said, putting the torch on a rack, "Isn't it beautiful!" The spirit room was painted a velvety black-blue with silver heiroglyphics all around it. The chest was in the back of the room, opposite the carved window which the moon could be seen through.

"Very clever. From the outside, it doesn't look like there are any windows, just blocks. What a way to get some privacy." Alyssa thought to herself. Wufei put down his gun and sat on top of the chest. A look of disappointment and frustration on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The damn chest won't open unless you have a key. Why didn't Lady Une or any of them see this?!"

"Oh." Alyssa said, quietly, "I guess the only thing to do is to wait until someone comes through the chest and get their key."

"Obviously." Alyssa sat down next to the chest and put her arms on it, to cradle her head.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to get some shut-eye until morning or someone appears. Which ever comes first." She shut her eyes and drifted off into sleep. Wufei stared out of the window then Alyssa said something else.

"By the way," she said, yawning (AN: I'm yawning right now are you? Lol. Isn't that weird?), "They say if you have a deceased loved one, you can wish to see them again and they will come to this room." She closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Wufei looked at her, his eyes widening.

"Meiran." he whispered. He looked to the window again.

"Nonsense, there's no such thing. I don't believe in things like that." he narrowed his eyes and looked away from the window to the wall across from him. Suddenly, the writings on the walls began to glow a bright turquise and Wufei's eyes widened as he saw the whole room light up. A blinding, white light appeared from the small window and Wufei shaded his eyes. When the light dimmed, he put his hand down and saw.......Meiran.

"Mei.....Meiran. Is it really you?"

"Yes, but this is only my ghost.....my shadow." she said, in a far away voice.

"Your ghost? How can this be true? I must be dreaming."

"You aren't dreaming, Wufei. I have come to tell you something. And, this is seems like the right place to do it."

"What-what is it?" he stammered.

"I know that ever since I died, you have felt lonely-"

"That isn't true!"

"Please, Wufei. Please let me finish." Wufei nodded.

"And, I also know that you have felt that you've been cheating on me whenever you feel special emotions towards someone else." She looked over to Alyssa, who was still asleep. Wufei turned and looked at her, too.

"I just wanted to tell you," Wufei turned around to Meiran again, "That you need not feel this way. You can love others. It's alright. You need to move on, Wufei. You need to let go of me. I want you to move on and be happy. Don't be afraid to love again." Wufei opened his mouth to object, but closed it and nodded.

"I.....understand. But, I still love you."

"I know. I know."
"I still miss you."

"And I you."

"Will I ever see you again, Meiran?"

"Of course you will. But, not now. You still have too much to do, which means living your life and not spending all your time with your nose in the books, scholarboy!"
Wufie's eyes narrowed, but then he let out a laugh.

"Ah. You haven't change one bit. Nice seeing you again."

"Nice seeing you, too. Bye, for now, Wufei." The blinding light appeared again and she was gone. The heiroglyphics changed back and the room was as it was. Dark, gloomy, and dry. Alyssa tossed and turned for a second, then went back to sleep. Wufei stayed awake, thinking about his visit with Meiran and watching over Alyssa.

*~~1 Hour Later~~*
Wufei was just about to settle down next to Alyssa when he heard a rustling sound coming from where the chest was. He got up, his gun close to him, and pressed his ear to the chest. The sounds were coming closer and closer. And to his relief, it sounded like there was only one person. He walked back to Alyssa and shook her gently until she woke up. Together they waited in the darkness of the room, until the the person walked through the chest-door. What they saw come through the chest surprised them. It wasn't a person, but a dog.

"What?" Alyssa whispered.

"Don't do anything. Stay put." Wufei stayed still, but something about the dog didn't seem quite right to Alyssa.

'It's body movements don't look natural. As if there was something artificial about this dog.' she thought. Then, she caught a glimpse of it's "skin" and saw that there were nuts and bolts on it.

"Wufie," she whispered even quieter so the robot-dog wouldn't hear them, "That dog isn't real."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at it's skin. It's metal. We have to get the key that's around it's neck. It's the only way we can get in and back."

"Right. Let's hurry and get it over with." They crept closer to the dog, but no sooner had they started moving had the dog sensed them. It's ears perked up and it stared straight at them for a second or two before charging.

"Shoot it now!" Alyssa cried. It took them a few rounds before stopping the dog. But, in the process it left a deep bite wound on Alyssa's leg and some deep scratch marks on Wufei's arms and legs. They hastily wrapped up their wounds and made their way through the chest and down the ladder. The chest was a sky blue and had gold markings on it.

"I wonder where the tomb is?" Alyssa thought out loud.

"Who cares. I just hope that no one heard or saw us." Wufei said, jumping off the ladder. As they walked towards the entrance of the building (there weren't any doors it just led to a work area) they noticed that their surroundings were still of rock and brick.

"Wait, stop." Alyssa whispered to Wufei. She got out a tiny flashlight, the kind that can hook onto your keychain, and read the lettering that she saw on the wall.

"I'm not as good at reading this as I used to be." she started reading it, slowly.

"He who....enters..here...beware of the Golden Beetle...for he who...touches it...shall per--perish by the blood of Khufu." she stopped reading and they looked at each other.

"This can't be right," Wufie said, "That's like thousands of years old. And people have managed to build all this," he spread his arms, "and no one has died."

"Yeah...I guess you're right." Alyssa said, still unsure, "Let's just go already." They made their way through the building unnoticed because no one was there and got to the information room.

*~~30 Min. Later~~* (pardon me for skipping some parts...I'm lazy)
Alyssa and Wufei made their way back to the "entrance" of the building where the rock began. A pebble scattered across the ground behind them and Wufei's head twitched back. His eyes moved from one corner of the room to the other.

"Someone's here." Alyssa whispered.

"No duh," he whispered back, "Let's just go before they catch us."

"Hold it!" a voice said behind them. They spun around and saw one of the security guards. All three just stood there. Not talking or anything for they didn't know what to do. Finally, the guard said something.

"Bon voyage!" He smiled evily and pressed a golden beetle on the wall beside him. Alyssa and Wufei both gasped and the ground started to shake severely. The security guard laughed as the the ground split underneath them. Soon, there was a huge crack in the surface with a red liquid that looked like lava, but was more of a blood-red color, below the three. Alyssa started to lose her balance and almost fell, but Wufei caught her and brought her away from the crack. Suddenly, what looked like a green rope, rose from the "blood" and wrapped itself around the security guard's leg. It pulled him down so fast that he didn't get a chance to react.

"Oh my God! What was that?!" Alyssa shouted.

"I don't know! Let's just get out of here! Wufei said, grabbing her hand and leading her back to the ladder. But, then, the "rope" came up again and got Alyssa's leg, pulling her down, and dragging her to the cliff. She grabbed on to a small indent in the wall and held on with all her might.

"It's a snake, Wufei!" she screamed. Wufei got out his knife and threw it at the snake, cutting it's grip off of Alyssa.

"Here!" he said, giving her his hand. Alyssa could barely reach it, their fingertips touching. The indent was breaking and she was slipping away. Wufei tried to move down closer, but he knew he would fall in himself if he did. Finally, the indent broke and Alyssa fell, letting out a peircing scream as she did. Wufei closed his eyes, knowing she was gone. He felt hot tears starting to fill in his eyes and he put his hand over his mouth. Then he heard a sharp crack and looked to where it came from. Next to him, a hook connected to a rope was hanging over the ledge. He looked down and heard a voice.

"Well, don't just stand there! Help me up!" Alyssa yelled. Wufei scrambled to his feet and pulled Alyssa up.

"Don't look now, but I don't think those are black polka dots coming after us." Wufie said, as he pointed into the "blood" pit. There were thousands of what looked like black dots coming up from the blood and were climbing up the walls at an intense pace, but they were actually black scorpions and flesh-eating beatles (AN: yes, I might have gotten some of these ideas from the Mummy Returns sowee! I tried to be creative!)

"Oh my God," Alyssa said (AN: the famous saying ^-^) as they started running back to the ladder and out of the Pyramid. Screams of workers could be heard as the beatles and scorpions infested their skin with their deadly disease of death.

*~~End of Chapter Eight~~*

AN: I know that last part was kind of creepy and deep and wasn't really "Gundam-like", but I like having dramatic endings. It keeps the reader wanting more, am I right? Well, thanks for all the support with the reviews and I'll keep the next chapters coming. The next one is where everyone starts planning and the real terror begins! Till next time! Sayo! =^_^=
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